Proposal

How to Comment

You can read the 149 comments posted so far and post your own comment at Regulations.govuntil Tuesday, February 18, 2014, at 11:59 p.m. eastern time.

National Chapter 13 Plan

New Official Form 113 – a national chapter 13 plan form. The plan form would be mandatory. Features of the plan include: a debtor may propose to limit a secured claim, may avoid certain liens, and may propose non-standard provisions. Most of the comments posted so far relate to the proposed plan. You can see proposed Form 113 starting on page 243.

Rules Changes

To implement a national plan, changes are proposed toBankruptcy Rules 2002, 3002, 3007, 3012, 3015, 4003, 5005, 5009, 7001, 9006, and 9009. Notable are a new requirement that secured creditors must file a claim to receive payment under the plan, a shortened claims deadline, and a prohibition on alteration of official forms.

New Forms – Means Test

Official Forms 22A-1, 22A-2, 22B, 22C-1, and 22C-2. Restyled forms for individuals in chapters 7, 11, 13. Exemption from the means test requirement moved to a new separate form. New instruction for domestic support obligation paid by one joint debtor or non-filing spouse to the other debtor. Changes to the forms to implement the ruling inHamilton v. Lanning, 130 S.Ct. 2464 (2010), which heldthat the calculation of a chapter 13 debtorâ€™sprojected disposable income under Â§ 1325(b) requires consideration of changes to income orexpenses reported elsewhere on Official Form 22C that, at the time of plan confirmation, hadoccurred or were virtually certain to occur.

New Forms – Petition and Schedules

Forms 101, 101A, 101B, 104, 105, 106Sum, 106A/B, 106C, 106D, 106E/F, 106G, 106H, 106Dec, 107, 112,119, 121. The petition and schedules have been restyled and renumbered. Separate sets of forms have been created for individuals and non-individual entities. Numerous textual changes are proposed to make the forms easier to understand and elicit better answers. The forms also are designed to interface with future technology. An extensive instruction booklet is included.

Other New Forms

Official Forms 17A, 17B, 17C – Restyled, renumbered and revised notice of appeal forms in connection with the revision of the bankruptcy appellate rules. Forms 318 Order of Discharges. Form 423 Certification About a Financial Management Course. Form 427 Cover Sheet for Reaffirmation Agreement.

Jill Michaux has helped Kansas consumers with debt problems for three decades. She and her partner, Mark Neis, are Topeka's only bankruptcy specialists, board certified in consumer bankruptcy law by the American Board of Certification. She help start the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys.